NTL Issue 8

Register now for the Seventh World Congress on Brain Injury

Lisbon, Portugal, April 9-12, 2008.

The Seventh World Congress is a unique opportunity to establish collegial relationships with international professionals focused on the care and/or service of persons with acquired brain injury and/or the science of brain injury research. State of the art research will be presented dealing with information spanning from basic science to clinical (coma to community) aspects of brain injury. Attendees are comprised of physicians, psychologists and neuropsychologists, therapists, social workers, nurses, case managers, legal professionals, advocates and all others working in the field of brain injury.

The Congress will also include a special one day pre-Congress symposium, co-sponsored with the World Federation of Neurological Rehabilitation (WFNR) on "Advances and Controversies in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury" which will be held April 8, 2008.

To register for the Congress or to view the Scientific Program, click here.

Feature Article

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy is a complex subject. What do we mean by life expectancy? A life expectancy of a cohort of a given age is the arithmetic mean of the actual survival time of the entire cohort. A more useful term is ‘median survival time’ which is the middle survival time for a cohort, if all the survival times are arranged from smallest to largest. In other words this is the time when 50% of the cohort has died and this is probably the most useful statistic. [full story]

Product Review

When I was asked to review this three set DVD series regarding stroke, I was not sure what to expect. The product comes out of Stroke Education Limited, a group which is based in New Zealand and chaired by Professor Valery Feigin, M.D., Ph.D., FAAN. To his credit , it has received endorsements by the World Stroke Federation and the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation. The series is divided into three sections. The first is entitled: "Understanding Stroke: Expert Advice," and is sub-divided further into two chapters, "Understanding Stroke," and "Experts Advice." The first chapter is narrated on-screen by Dr. Feigin and covers a variety of topics. The 40 minute running time provides fairly detailed explanations of various aspects of stroke pathology, risk factors, treatment, including diagnostic work-up, as well as, prognosis and outcome information. [full story]

Book Review

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Postconcussion Syndrome

This is the first neuropsychology book to translate exciting findings from the recent explosion of research on sport-related concussion to the broader context of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and post-concussive syndrome (PCS) in the general population. In addition, it includes a Continuing Education (CE) component administered by the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology.. Dr. McCrea's book thus provides a welcome evidence base for all clinicians - including psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, rehabilitation medicine physicians, physiatrists, and nurses - involved in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of MTBI, as well as attorneys involved in personal injury litigation and personal injury defense. Each section of the book ends with a helpful summary of the 'Top 10 Conclusions.' Instructions for earning AACN-administered CE credit are included. [full story]

The NeuroTrauma Letter is produced quarterly by the International Brain Injury Association. Please address editorial questions to nzasler@cccv-ltd.com

Editor in Chief Nathan D. Zasler, M.D., United States

Articles of Note

In order to keep IBIA members apprised of current brain injury literature, NTL editors and editorial board members have prepared a list of recently published articles that may be of interest. [full story]

Join IBIA

Founded in 1993, IBIA was created in response to the growing demand from professionals and advocates throughout the world for collaboration and more information on all aspects of brain injury, from prevention to long-term care issues. Benefits of membership include an annual subscription to the journal Brain Injury as well as quarterly issues of this publication, the International NeuroTrauma Letter. To receive a membership form, click here (pdf)

Join the IBIA Listserv

In an effort to provide global communication among members, IBIA has created a brain injury Listserv. To sign up for the Listserv, click here. Please note that membership in IBIA is required to join the Listserv.